Quatrain

This is an enjoyable set of 4 novellas, each set in a different one of Sharon Shinn's universes. I enjoyed all of the stories a lot, though the entire reason I picked this book up was for the novella set in the Summers at Castle Auburn universe. I have wanted more stories in that world for ages, so I was thrilled to find out that one existed.

Honestly, I don't think there was a weak story in the lot. I've read the Twelve Houses series, Summers at Castle Auburn, and Heart of Gold, so I knew three of the four settings going into this book. (It's been long enough since I've read them, though, that the only one I truly remember is Castle Auburn...) I was able to pick the worlds back up without getting confused by small things, and the show more Samaria story (whose world was new to me) was equally easy to get caught up in without getting lost. This is a very solid set of novellas, and I recommend it to any fan of Sharon Shinn's work. show less

FYI - this review ONLY deals with the novella "Flight."

So, this past weekend I found I had some time to kill in a Borders in Chicago, so I decided to pick up Quatrain by Sharon Shinn and read the Samaria novella. Quatrain consists of four novellas, each taking place in one of Shinn's worlds. I am a hug fan of the Samaria series, so was anxious to read this particular tale, but I didn't want to have to purchase the whole book for this one story (honestly, I haven't read any other of Shinn's series, so the other stories in this particular volume didn't really interest me), so I grabbed it off the shelf and bought a coffee and found a comfy corner to settle myself into for an hour or two of reading.

The story in "Flight" deals directly with show more one of the previous Samaria books, but unfortunately it has been too long since I read any of the series for me to remember which book this story tied directly to. Needless to say, I still enjoyed the story as it thoroughly transported me back to the world of Samaria, a world populated by mortals and angels, overseen by the Jovah-appointed Archangel; a world filled with music and emotion.

Spoilerific Pause

This story deals with Salome who is trying to protect her niece from the Archangel Raphael, who has had a dark past with Salome. This is a quick tale, and one that allows the characters to have a nice resolution to the immediate story; Salome discovers that the unrequited love she has longed for most of her life actually returns her feelings, Raphael's excesses as Archangel may be exposed, and Salome's niece comes to her senses.

I don't know that this is a necessary read in the world of Samaria, but if you are looking for a nice return to Samaria, like me, because it's been too long of a break, this is a nice taste of that world. show less

I'm so happy I read this book finally, these stories were so entertaining!

Flight made me very excited to finally read the Samaria books, but by itself it was a very good story and seemed really well-rounded for a new reader. I was confused at first while reading Blood, never having read the other book where the story takes place, but it pulled me in after awhile. I'll definitely be checking out some of her other books. In Gold I was very happy to be back in the world where Summers at Castle Auburn took place, I didn't like Zara at first but she grew on me. Flame was just as I expected it to be: awesome. The Twelve Houses series were the first books I read by Sharon Shinn and I've loved them ever since; Senneth being my favorite of the show more group. So of course I had to get this book to read about her adventures before Mystic and Rider begins, and I wasn't disappointed; I loved the extra info we got about her in this book, and I love that Kirra and Donnal make an appearance too! If I didn't have so many other books to read I would be re reading the Twelve Houses books right now. show less

Four novellas set in the worlds’ of Shinn’s other books.

Flight set in the world of the Samaria series - A former angel-seeker now worries that her niece will follow the same path. Enjoyable but felt a bit rushed.

Blood set in the world of [Heart of Gold] – A Gulden man’s search for his mother in the capital city. Loved this one – all of the characters were complex which is a treat in a novella.

Gold set in the world of [Summers at Castle Auburn] – A princess is spirited away to an addictive fairy land to avoid a war. My favorite in this book, quite a mesmerizing world.

Flame set in the world of the Twelve Houses series - A prequel to the Twelve Houses series in which Senneth finds herself in trouble in a small town when her show more magical abilities are realized. The weakest of the four, there was little plot to speak of. show less

Overall Satisfaction: ★★1/2
Intellectual Satisfaction: ★1/2
Emotional Satisfaction: ★★★
Read this for: The world-building*
Don't read this for: The themes
Bechdel Test: Pass
Johnson Test: Fail
Books I was reminded of: Just the ones this volume references: Archangel, Heart of Gold, Summers at Castle Auburn, and Mystic and Rider.
Will I read more by this author? I suppose.

This was a deeply disappointing collection for me. It doesn't work for two reasons. The first is that, to borrow Jo Walton's phrasing, the first book in any of Shinn's series always blows me away, then each successive volume is only half as good as the one before. Two of the four novellas in this volume are set in the worlds of Shinn's two longest series, and those show more two novellas have reached only homeopathically good territory. The second reason is that I just don't think Shinn is capable of writing stories with the sort of thematic freight she attempted here -- the two non-series novellas are drawn from two of her more message-heavy novels, and the two series novellas attempt to address some of the seriously thorny issues inherent but not really addressed in her previous world-building.

Still, it's the sort of volume that if you are a Sharon Shinn completist, you simply have to read it. And since her prose is always pleasant and easy to read it goes very, very quickly.

Descriptions and reviews of each novella on my blog. show less

Sep12:

Characters: I pretty much liked them all. Pretty well developed for 4 short stories.

Plots: Good amount of bits for the short stories.

Style: Pretty much classic Sharon Shinn.

Four self-contained novellas, each set in one of the amazing worlds of Sharon Shinn (Samaria, Heart of Gold, Castle Auburn, Twelve Houses). Hard to pick a favorite. Good thing I don't have to.